Kabushenga reflects on Moses Ali’s strengths in touching tribute

Former Vision Group Chief Executive Officer Robert Kabushenga has paid tribute to General Moses Ali, describing him as a decisive leader who preferred dialogue to political intrigue and played a key role in Uganda’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kabushenga shared his reflections hours after Moses Ali died at Nakasero Hospital on July 18, 2026. President Museveni later confirmed the veteran politician’s death, describing him as a long-serving soldier, political leader and model farmer whose contribution to Uganda would be greatly missed.

In a tribute titled A Tribute to Gen. Moses Ali, Kabushenga said he first heard of Moses Ali in 1978 when he was serving as Finance minister. He later met him while serving as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Vision Group, where Moses Ali was then Deputy Prime Minister.

Kabushenga’s Thoughts A Tribute To Gen. Moses Ali

I first heard of Moses Ali in 1978. He was Minister of Finance. I was a primary school pupil in my 5th grade. Later in life, I got to meet him in person. At the time he was a deputy prime minister. It would be his highest political office in Uganda.

For my part, I was then working as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Vision Group. This is the man I wish to pay tribute to. Not the one who in his twilight years became somewhat of a caricature.

He came to my office on a few occasions but there are three I remember distinctly. First he would arrive unannounced and with no fanfare. My assistant would simply open the door and tell me Gen. Ali is here. Each time he came by, he politely asked to see me and then sat patiently in the waiting area outside my office.

I made it a point to get out of my chair & personally usher him in. Gen. Ali never wasted my time. He always got straight to the point & presented his issues simply, methodically. No meandering, no hectoring, no arrogance. He was courteous. One of the times he came, it was to advise on ethnic-religious tensions West Nile.

Our radio station in the area was taking sides. He took the trouble to get me to understand and then advised how we could navigate the issue. Where other politicians routinely turned such situations into false accusations against us to the President, he instead offered to give guidance.

I knew then that he eschewed politics of intrigue that many of his colleagues practiced to get ahead. He knew what he wanted & went out of his way to get it. It explained why he felt very strongly that he deserved the highest military rank. He never tired of demanding it.

When eventually he was made full General, he came by to say he was going to celebrate in a procession march through his home town. Would I oblige him by having his photo on the front page? I did. Where others were wont to pull rank, he asked politely. The last time he came to talk about a book he had written on the Nubi community of Uganda.

It was during this conversation that I learnt about the internal political fall out from Idi Amin’s invasion of Tanzania. He was eventually fired and would have been killed if his mother’s people, the Nubi, had not hidden him in Bombo where he lay low until Amin was removed.

My last encounter with him was when he chaired the meetings of the Covid Task Force. He was decisive where others seemed to be enamored of the sound of their voices. He had a way of shutting up the loquacious & focused on the issues at hand. His last real contribution as a public servant was in the fight against COVID.

I got to see how he overcame egotistical & subjective individuals to get decisions made. He never hesitated to reprimand ministers that postured as powerful & connected. He was that self confident. But he was also a flawed individual who straddled our troubled politics. He was not always humble & in the end failed to know when to leave. Both of these tainted his legacy.

Two stories tell of the first part. One was told to me by Hajji Moses Kigongo (the perennial NRM vice chairman) about how Ali dismissed him with contempt when he went to his office to seek an allocation for a car. The other one is from my friend Daudi Mpanga. He has recounted it elsewhere.

But perhaps, Gen. Ali will be remembered less fondly because of his recent image during the recent political campaigns. He gave critics of the government the perfect argument against the pitfalls of political longevity in public office. Now he is gone. A powerful reminder of our fallibility & mortality. I pray he finds lasting peace